ENBOUND (Lars Säfsund) – And She Says Gold [Japan Edition +2] Out of Print

With the recent Art Of Illusion debut – the new band of Lars Säfsund (Work Of Art) & Anders Rydholm (Grand Illusion) – many of you asked for more Lars Säfsund material. Under the pseudonym of ‘Lee Hunter’, Säfsund was the lead vocalist of Swedish act ENBOUND, recording two albums, being “And She Says Gold” their debut, in this now out of print Japanese edition including two bonus tracks. Here, ENBOUND combines here melodic metal waves, hard rock groove, muscular AOR hooks, and Säfsund’s stratospheric vocal dynamics.
You see, if it is done right, the melodic metal genre can produce some of the most entertaining and satisfying music anywhere within the rock / metal world. And so is the case with ”And She Said Gold” – the fantastic ENBOUND first CD, a great blend of classic metal, AOR, melodic hard rock and soaring vocals courtesy of Mr. Säfsund that came together to create ‘pure melodic metal gold’.

There is no question there is an abundance of talent possessed by each member of this band. Virtuoso Marvin Flowberg very delicately provides some of the most masterful guitar work around. And of course, the persuasive vocals of Lars Säfsund are definitely a huge force to the signature sound of Enbound. He has a distinctive way of carrying out big sound in an understated manner.
Add to that a strong rhtyhm section with precise beats by Cameron and keyboard flourishes, and you have a winner here.

“‘And She Says Gold” is filled with very melodic, riff-driven songs with powerful and memorable choruses. There was a significant amount of time and passion put into the songwriting, which definitely shows through.
And Lars Säfsund sounds as if he could easily sing any genre of music very effortlessly.

The beautiful arrangements are the order of the day on killer cuts as the opening track “Combined The Souls” and the anthem-like of “Noiseless Bullet”. The classy tune of “Frozen To Be” has a duet with singer LaGaylia Frazier, a memorable power AOR ballad where both singers pristine and passionate vocals make this a very believable love song. “Under A Spell” storms through it’s rampage an enters the fold as one of the faster tracks on the album.

An interesting thing is the cover of the late Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”, one of the bonus tracks. Generally this is a standard ‘no-no’ in the industry to cover an ’80s Pop song, however, Enbound did take the liberty to put in their own arrangements here and there, which actually give the song somewhat of a unique flavor, and at least make it a cool listen.
The other bonus is the Säfsund solo version of “Frozen To Be”, to enjoy his great voice alone.

If you needed to reassure yourself about Säfsund’s powerful voice, just listen to “Love Has Come” but be careful it may cracks some windows with his amazing high pitch shriek. Ohh My, this dude can sing.

With its detailed songwriting & production and superb musicianship, ”And She Says Gold” is pure gold indeed.
ENBOUND can be best described as melodic metal with stong elements of progressive hard rock and muscular AOR. You have a band that is highly technical and melodic and occasionally very heavy on the guitar side of things, with intelligent solo. The drumming and bass playing are also quite impressive with many time signature changes and little solos and fills throughout.

But it is the vocals that really shine on this album. Vocalist Lars Säfsund aka Lee Hunter is nothing less than breathtaking on this record. This guy can really sing and his excellent pronunciation, phrasing, and vocal harmonies are incredible.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

01 – Combined The Souls
02 – Descending
03 – Noiseless Bullet
04 – Squeals Of War
05 – Frozen To Be
06 – Under A Spell
07 – Untitled X
08 – I Am Lost To You
09 – Shifting Gears
10 – Love Has Come
11 – The Broken Heart
12 – Running Free
13 – Me And Desire
JAPAN BONUS TRACKS:
14 – Beat It [Michael Jackson cover]
15 – Frozen To Be

Lars Säfsund (aka Lee Hunter) – Vocals, Keyboards
Marvin Flowberg – Guitars
Swede – Bass
Mike Cameron Force – Drums, Keyboards, Backing Vocals

Out Of Print
www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/IUCP-16103